In America, an entrepreneur who developed and operated a short-lived online gambling site has been extradited to another state to face charges of violating local and Federal laws.

The Governor for the State of Washington, Christine Gregoire, approved a request from law enforcement officials in the southern state of Louisiana for the extradition of Nick Jenkins, a 38-year-old Seattle entrepreneur and owner of now closed Betcha.com, and his two business partners, Josie Imlay and Peter Abrahamsen.

Jenkins had appealed to the Governor of his home state not to allow the extradition to proceed until his own case against the Washington State Gambling Board has been decided. This Board had raided and shut down Jenkins's site but he was arguing its legality in court as a betting venue between third parties.

Betcha.com was designed by Jenkins along with Imlay and Abrahamsen to provide a forum for bettors to wager against one another on almost any topic, such as which actor would win an Academy Award, with individual gamblers receiving customer ratings based on payouts. Jenkins, who is also a lawyer, is arguing that, because bets were not guaranteed or backed by the site, Betcha.com was legal.

Prosecutors in Louisiana are claiming that Betcha.com also violated its laws against Internet-based gambling and wanted him to answer their charges in person.

Following the Governor’s decision, the three Betcha.com colleagues voluntarily flew to Louisiana and surrendered to State Police, who immediately arrested them. If convicted, the three could face up to five years in prison and fines of up to $20,000 each.